disburse

verb

dis·​burse dis-ˈbərs 

disbursed; disbursing

transitive verb

1

a

: to pay out : expend especially from a fund

disburse money

b

: to make a payment in settlement of

disburse a bill

2

: distribute

disburser noun

Synonyms

• drop
• expend
• fork (over, out, or up)
• give
• lay out
• outlay
• pay
• shell out
• spend

Examples of disburse in a Sentence

The money will be disbursed on the basis of need.

The government has disbursed millions of dollars in foreign aid.

Recent Examples on the Web

When scaling disbursed teams, considerations include attracting and retaining the best talent to drive expansion. —Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025

What is a Figure HELOC? Unlike a home equity loan, which is disbursed in a lump sum, a HELOC gives borrowers a revolving line of credit. —Kelsey Neubauer, CNBC, 18 May 2025

The following day, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals halted Chutkan’s order to disburse the funds to the climate groups to allow time for the case to be heard in full. —Peter Murphy, Boston Herald, 14 May 2025

What’s ahead The $4.1 billion that Congress allocated to LIHEAP for the 2025 fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, has already been disbursed. —Conor Harrison, The Conversation, 13 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French desbourser, from Old French desborser, from des- dis- + borse purse, from Medieval Latin bursa

First Known Use

1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for disburse

• adverse
• averse
• coerce
• disperse
• diverse
• immerse
• inverse
• obverse
• perverse
• rehearse
• reverse
• transverse

Kids Definition

disburse

verb

dis·​burse dis-ˈbərs 

disbursed; disbursing

: to pay out : expend

disburse money

disburser noun

Etymology

from early French desbourser "to pay out money," from des- "out, away" and borse "a purse," from Latin bursa "a small leather bag" — related to purse, reimburse